Jay Ryan Freeman (born November 27, 1981) is an American businessman and software engineer. He is known for creating the

Cydia Cydia is a graphical user interface of APT (Advanced Package Tool) for iOS. It enables a user to find and install software not authorized by Apple on jailbroken iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices. It also refers to digital distribution pla ...

software application and related software for jailbroken iOS—a modified version of

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

(where OS stands for operating system) that allows for the installation and customization of software outside of the regulation imposed by the App Store system.

Education and early work

Freeman studied and graduated with a degree in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

from the

College of Creative Studies The College of Creative Studies is the smallest of the three undergraduate colleges at the University of California, Santa Barbara, unique within the University of California system in terms of structure and philosophy. Its small size, studen ...

at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

. In 2009, he was a doctoral student in computer science at UCSB. He built Anakrino, a decompiler for .NET available in 2002. He co-authored a paper published in 2005 about a "

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

runtime event specification and monitoring library." He has worked with Brian Fox on multiple freelance projects.

Software

iOS

In February 2008, Freeman released the initial version of Cydia, a software distribution and installation tool for jailbroken iOS devices. In May 2009, he added a proprietary store system to Cydia which allows developers to sell their products. In September 2010, his company (SaurikIT, LLC) announced that it had acquired Rock Your Phone, Inc. (makers of Rock.app). SaurikIT and Rock Your Phone were the two largest providers of third-party apps. He has published tools for developers to make software, particularly for jailbroken iOS. He made Cydia Substrate, a framework that developers use to help them modify iOS with extensions. He also made Cycript, a tool that developers use to inspect and modify applications on iOS and OS X. He has developed a plethora of software extensions for jailbroken iOS users to add features to iOS, including Apple File Conduit 2, Cycorder, CyDialer, Cydget, Cyntact, Cyueue, Five Icon Dock, Veency, and WinterBoard. He has also released Cydia Eraser (previously named Cydia Impactor, but was renamed to avoid confusion) for jailbroken iOS, a tool for removing personal data and "unjailbreaking" the device while preserving the iOS version. He is also a member of the iPhone Dev Team group, which has developed jailbreaks for iOS.

Android

Freeman has also done software development and security research on the

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

OS. In 2008, he ported

Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...

for use on an Android phone. In April 2013, he built an implementation of a root (jailbreak) for

Google Glass Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a brand of smart glasses developed and sold by Google. It was developed by X (previously Google X), with the mission of producing an ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using ...

and published an analysis of the ramifications. In May 2013, he published a version of Cydia Substrate for Android. In July 2013, he published an analysis and implementation of "Master Key" vulnerabilities for Android.

Politics

Freeman supported incorporation of

Isla Vista, California Isla Vista is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Barbara County, California in the United States. As of 2020 census, the community had a population of 15,500. The majority of residents are college students at ...

(the community adjoining UCSB). In January 2016, he announced his candidacy for the

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

, and in June 2016 he lost in the primary election for that role. He then ran for a four-year seat on the Board of Directors for the Isla Vista Community Services District and was elected in November 2016. As of 2019, Freeman is also a Special District member of the Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission and a member of the

Goleta Goleta or La Goleta may refer to: * ''Goleta'' (spider), a spider genus * Goleta, California, United States, a suburban city in Santa Barbara County * La Goleta, the Spanish and Portuguese name for La Goulette La Goulette (, it, La Goletta), i ...

Library Advisory Commission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Jay American computer scientists IPhone Living people 1981 births People from Chicago People from Isla Vista, California